Editor’s Note: Wondering what to buy your father, brother or some other man this Christmas? NEWS graphic artist Brent Murray has accumulated some choice toys and has some ideas about what he’d like to find under the Christmas tree.

It happens every year — you get all your holiday shopping done, except for that one man who’s impossible to shop for. It doesn’t matter who he is or how well you know him — your brother, father, boyfriend, son — because every year you’re stumped.

There are a few different varieties of these hard-to-shop-for men: the one who has everything he wants, the one who has no discernable hobbies or interests, and the one who smiles politely at every gift you’ve ever given him and insists, “No, I really do like it.”

It’s pure agony, and one that everyone knows well. The mere thought of shopping brings a feeling of dread. And what’s worse is that you actually want to buy a great gift. It takes all the fun out of spending money.

One of these items might be perfect for the fellow you’re shopping for. If not, maybe this list will spawn an even better idea for you.

In the heat of the shopping season, it’s easy to forget the real reason behind giving a gift. In the end, it won’t matter how much the gift cost, or how cool or useful it is, as long as it was an honest expression of how you feel about someone. Give from the heart. Happy holidays.

Oakley Time Bomb watch. Time piece de resistance. Granted, the $1,500 price tag is not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve got the means, look no farther. This watch is a jaw-dropping, organic blend of X-Metal titanium and crystal that will turn heads. It will look as though a titanium crustacean from another planet has latched itself onto your wrist. One of its best features is a “subminiature generator that translates human motion into electricity, fueling microcircuitry that impels and regulates the instrument.” In other words, the watch uses you as a battery. Available from Oakley.

Leatherman Wave. The master of all-in-one tools, it includes pliers, wire cutters, knives, saws, scissors, screwdrivers and a bottle opener — everything you’ll need for almost any Y2K emergency. Weighing just 8 ounces of stainless steel, this wonder tool promises years of use. As long as you don’t lose it, you’ll be all set. Available from Leatherman Tool Group. (800) 847-8665.

The Aeron chair is the be-all end-all of office chairs. It’s in the movies, on TV, in magazine ads, in museum design collections and working hard in offices everywhere. Winner of countless awards, including the IDSA/Business Week Design of the Decade, it was a breakthrough when introduced in 1994, and there’s been nothing like it since. When you sit down, you’ll feel what all the fuss is about. Available from Herman Miller, $749.

Say cheese. The Jamc@m is a digital camera designed for fooling around. Take a snapshot, upload it, and slap it on your Web page or e-mail it to a friend. This 640-by-480-pixel digital camera is the only one under $100. Not designed to replace higher-end digital cameras, it is the digital equivalent of a Polaroid camera. It also includes software to edit, morph and transform your pictures on your computer. Available from stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Radio Shack and Circuit City. More information at www.gojamcam.com.

Get organized with the Palm Vx. Many Palm owners think buying the personal digital assistant is one of the best investments they’ve made. So much more than an electronic address book, mine is equipped with an electronic piano, guitar chord application, metronome, Web browser, e-mail, arcade games, language translators and Pocket Quicken to manage my finances, to name a few of the programs. Software for almost any walk of life can be downloaded and installed on your Palm in minutes. And it all fits in the palm of your hand. Prices for different models vary. Palm Vx, $449 retail.

More and more of us are working at home in addition to our day jobs. Your friend might appreciate a little help with storing tools, files, CDs or anything else. Sleek and stylish, EMU lacquered metal storage boxes with lids come in a set of two, to hide all those odds and ends. Available from IKEA. $14.95.

Power Wrapper sorter makes it even easier to put that loose change to work for you. Uniquely, this automated sorter has two rows of coin tubes for faster processing. As coins are rotated about the track, they fall into appropriate slots, triggering lively sound effects. Every coin is counted on the large LCD, which can show your grand total or a total for each denomination. Available from Sharper Image. $29.95.

A flashlight may not sound like an exciting gift, but the EternaLight LED flashlight is no ordinary one. It provides over 700 hours of use on one set of three AAA batteries, and emits a cool, white light, not yellow, visible from hundreds of yards away. It’s also watertight, and will float when lithium batteries are installed. It has many other nifty features like a timer mode, auto-off, dim, dazzle, and strobe modes. Available from Technology Associates, www.techass.com. $79.99.

How do you say … ? 26 Language Translator/Data Bank translates in any direction amid English, European (including Russian) and Asian languages. Contains over 120,000 words and 3,000 phrases. Also performs calculations, metric conversions and currency exchanges, in addition to local and world time. $79, Brookstone.

Does he already have a Palm PDA, a cell phone and all those other hot gadgets? There’s nothing like wrapping your accessories in luxury. One word: Coach. Coach makes fine leather carrying cases for almost any toy — StarTac or Nokia cell phones, Palms, etc., as well as other fine leather accessories, like mousepads, notebooks and desk sets. Available from Coach. $29 and up.

Speak your mind. The StarTac cell phone is tiny, sleek and indispensible. Enhance its funcationality with accessories like the No-Install, Hands-Free kit which includes a speaker and hands-free microphone for use especially in the car. Available from Herrington. $79.95

Digital music in the palm of your hand. Diamond’s Rio PMP300 is the first portable MP3 music player for under $200 that stores up to 60 minutes of digital-quality sound. It’s smaller than an audio cassette and has no moving parts, so it never skips. Powered by a single AA battery, Rio provides up to 12 hours of continuous music playback. Just download MP3s from the Web or make them from CDs, load them into your player and go. $129 and up.

Is he a voracious reader? Does he travel or commute a lot, or is he tired of lugging pounds of the “written word” wherever he goes? The new Rocket E-book is the solution. This compact, hand-held electronic reader stores the equivalent of about 10 books, or 4,000 average paperback pages. Its unique, high-resolution, backlit panel provides optimal reading — regardless of available light. And at just 22 ounces, the Rocket E-book goes anywhere. Available from Sharper Image. $299.

Listen up. Radio fans can enjoy hearing programs from the world over. With automatic scanning capabilities for AM/FM/SW, the Grundig World Receiver Clock comes with a shortwave tuning guide, earphones, and a snap-on leather case. If Jan. 1, 2000, is anything like the 1998 ice storm, with this radio you’ll be able to hear much more than just WVOM. Available from Brookstone. $150

Get lost! Portable GPS for your car uses orbiting satellites to show your exact position. StreetPilot contains a comprehensive base map of the entire North American continent, including cities, interstates, exits, major highways, lakes, rivers and boundaries. Sixteen-color display reportedly stays highly visible even in bright sunlight. It plugs into your cigarette lighter socket, and mounts to the dashboard. Garmin StreetPilot GPS, available from Herrington. $699.